ELEMENT SYMBOLS.

Each element is represented by its own unique symbol as seen on the Periodic Table

• E.g. H is hydrogen

• Where a symbol contains two letters, the first one is always in capital letters and the other
is small

• E.g. sodium is Na, not NA

• Atoms combine together in fixed ratios that will give them full outer shells of electrons

• The chemical formula tells you the ratio of atoms

• E.g. H2O is a compound containing 2 hydrogen atoms which combine with 1 oxygen
atom

• The chemical formula can be deduced from the relative number of atoms present

• E.g. If a molecule contains 3 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of nitrogen then the formula
would be NH3

CHEMICAL FORMULA.

• The structural formula tells you the way in which the atoms in a particular molecule are
bonded

• This can be done by either a diagram (displayed formula) or written (simplified

structural formula)

• The molecular formula tells you the actual number of atoms of each element in one molecule of
the compound or element

• E.g. H2 has 2 hydrogen atoms, HCl has 1 hydrogen atom and 1 chlorine atom

Example: Butane

• Structural formula (displayed)

• Structural formula (simplified)
• CH CH CH CH
3 2 2 3
• Molecular formula
• CH
4 10
• Empirical formula
• CH
2 5

Deducing formulae by valency

• The concept of valency is used to deduce the formulae of compounds (either molecular
compounds or ionic compounds)

• Valency or combining power tells you how many bonds an atom can make with another atom or
how many electrons its atoms lose, gain or share, to form a compound

• E.g. carbon is in Group IV so a single carbon atom can make 4 single bonds or 2 double
bonds

• The following valencies apply to elements in each group:

 Classwork

What is the formula of the following chemical compounds

(a) Sodium oxide

(b) Aluminium Bromide

(c) Magnesium sulfide

(d) Boron nitride

(e) Berylium Iodide

• The molecular formula is the formula that shows the number and type of each atom in a
molecule

• E.g. the molecular formula of ethanoic acid is C2H4O2

• The empirical formula is the simplest whole number ratio of the atoms of each element present
in one molecule or formula unit of the compound

• E.g. the empirical formula of ethanoic acid is CH2O

• Organic molecules, such as ethanoic acid, often have different empirical and molecular formulae

• The formula of an ionic compound is always an empirical formula

Deducing Formulae of Ionic Compounds

• The formulae of these compounds can be calculated if you know the charge on the ions

• The Periodic Table can help work out the charge on many elements:

• Group I elements form ions with a 1+ charge

 • Group II elements form ions with a 2+ charge

• Group III elements form ions with a 3+ charge

• Group V elements form ions with a 3- charge

• Group VI elements form ions with a 2- charge

• Group VII elements form ions with a 1- charge

• Below are some other common ions and their charges

• Note that a Roman numeral next to the element tells you the charge on the ion, e.g. copper(II)
ions have a charge 2+

• There are several common compound ions included in the table

• Some chemists call these polyatomic ions

Common Ions & Their Charges Table

• The overall sum of the charges of an ionic compound should be 0

• You therefore need to work out the ratio of the ions to ensure this is the case

• When you write the formula of a compound ion it is necessary to use brackets around the
compound ion where more than one of that ion is needed in the formula

• For example copper(II) hydroxide is Cu(OH)2

 What is the formula of?

1. Sodium bromide

2. Aluminium fluoride

3. Aluminium Oxide

Classwork

What is the formula of?

1. Magnesium nitrate

2. Ammonium sulfate

3. Aluminium nitrate

4. Calcium hydroxide

5. Ammonium nitride
Writing Word Equations & Symbol Equations

Word equations

• These show the reactants and products of a chemical reaction using their full chemical names

• The arrow (which is spoken as “goes to” or “produces”) implies the conversion of reactants into
products

• Reaction conditions or the name of a catalyst can be written above the arrow

• An example of a word equation for neutralisation is:

• sodium hydroxide + hydrochloric acid → sodium chloride + water

• The reactants are sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid

• The products are sodium chloride and water

Names of compounds

For compounds consisting of 2 atoms:

(a) If one is a metal and the other a non-metal, then the name of the metal atom comes first and
the ending of the second atom is replaced by adding -ide

• E.g. NaCl which contains sodium and chlorine thus becomes sodium chloride

(b)If both atoms are non-metals and one of those is hydrogen, then hydrogen comes first

• E.g. Hydrogen and chlorine combined is called hydrogen chloride

2. For other combinations of non-metals as a general rule, the element that has a lower group
number comes first in the name

• E.g. carbon and oxygen combine to form CO2 which is carbon dioxide since carbon is in
Group 4 and oxygen in Group 6

3. For compounds that contain certain groups of atoms:

• There are common groups of atoms which occur regularly in chemistry

• Examples include the carbonate ion (CO32-), sulfate ion (SO42-), hydroxide ion
(OH-) and the nitrate ion (NO3-)

• When these ions form a compound with a metal atom, the name of
the metal comes first

• E.g. KOH is potassium hydroxide, CaCO3 is calcium carbonate

Writing and balancing chemical equations

• Chemical equations use the chemical symbols of each reactant and product

• When balancing equations, there needs to be the same number of atoms of each element on
either side of the equation

• The following non-metals must be written as diatomic molecules (i.e. molecules that contain two
atoms): H2, N2, O2, F2, Cl2, Br2 and I2

• Work across the equation from left to right, checking one element after another

• If there is a group of atoms, for example a nitrate group (NO3-) that has not changed from one
side to the other, then count the whole group as one entity rather than counting the individual
atoms.

• Examples of chemical equations:

• Acid-base neutralisation reaction:

NaOH(aq) + HCl(aq) ⟶ NaCl(aq) + H2O(l)

• Redox reaction:
2Fe2O3(aq) + 3C(s) ⟶ 4Fe(s) + 3CO2(g)

• In each equation there are equal numbers of each atom on either side of the
reaction arrow so the equations are balanced

• The best approach is to practice lot of examples of balancing equations

• By trial and error change the coefficients (multipliers) in front of the formulae, one by one
checking the result on the other side

• Balance elements that appear on their own, last in the process

• Example 1

• Balance the following equation:

• aluminium + copper(II)oxide ⟶ aluminium oxide + copper

• Unbalanced symbol equation:

• Al + CuO ⟶ Al2O3 + Cu
 • Example 2:

• Balance the following equation:

• magnesium oxide + nitric acid ⟶ magnesium nitrate + water

• Unbalanced symbol equation:

• MgO + HNO3 ⟶ Mg(NO3)2 + H2O

State symbols

• State symbols are written after each formula in chemical equations to show which physical state
each substance is in

• Brackets are used and they are not usually subscripted although you may come across them
written in this way

• Aqueous should remind you of the word 'aqua' and means the substance is dissolved in water

• In other words it is a solution

Solid Liquid Gas Aqueous

(s) (l) (g) (aq)

• Symbol equations should be included when writing chemical equations.

• An example of a reaction with state symbols is the reaction of copper carbonate with
hydrochloric acid

• CuCO3(s) + 2HCl(aq) ⟶ CuCl2(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)

• Sometimes it can be hard to know what the correct state symbol is and we have to look for
clues in the identity of substances in a reaction

• Generally, unless they are in a solution:

• Metal compounds will always be solid, although there are a few exceptions

• Ionic compounds will usually be solids

• Non-metal compounds could be solids, liquids or gases, so it depends on chemical structure

• Precipitates formed in solution count as solids

• In the worked examples above the final equations with the state symbols would be

• 2Al(s) + 3CuO(s) ⟶ Al2O3(s) + 3Cu(s)

• MgO(s) + 2HNO3(aq) ⟶ Mg(NO3)2(aq) + H2O(l)

Deducing Symbol Equations

For some reactions, you will not be given the unbalanced equation but you will be expected to use
your knowledge learnt throughout the course to know or deduce the formula of compounds and then
balance the equations

Worked Example
Aluminium burns in chlorine to form the white solid, aluminium chloride. Write the balanced symbol
equation, including state symbols, for the reaction.

Deducing Symbol Equations

Answer:

• Step 1: Work out the formula and state symbols of the reactants and products to construct an
unbalanced symbol equation:

• Aluminium is a solid metal, like other pure metals, it is an element so its formula is the
same as its chemical symbol: Al(s)

• From your knowledge of Group VII elements, you should know that chlorine is a gas that
exists as a diatomic molecule: Cl2(g)

• Aluminum chloride is a solid - this information is given in the question as you would not
be expected to know this. Its formula is deduced from the charges on the ions present:

• Aluminium has a 3+ charge and chloride ions have a 1- charge, therefore for the
compound to be neutral, 3 chloride ions are needed for every 1 aluminium
ion: AlCl3(s)

• The unbalanced symbol equation is thus:

• Al(s)+ Cl2(g) → AlCl3(s)

Balancing Ionic Equations

• In aqueous solutions ionic compounds dissociate into their ions, meaning they separate into the
component ions that formed them

• E.g. hydrochloric acid and potassium hydroxide dissociate as follows:

HCl(aq) → H+(aq) + Cl-(aq)

KOH(aq) → K+(aq) + OH-(aq)

• It is important that you can recognise common ionic compounds and their constituent ions

• These include:

• Acids such as HCl and H2SO4

• Group I and Group II hydroxides e.g. sodium hydroxide

• Soluble salts e.g. potassium sulfate, sodium chloride

• Follow the example below to write ionic equations

Write the ionic equation for the reaction of aqueous chlorine and aqueous potassium iodide.

• Answer:

• Step 1: Write out the full balanced equation:

• 2KI(aq) + Cl2(aq) → 2KCl(aq) + I2(aq)

• Step 2: Identify the ionic substances and write down the ions separately

• 2K+(aq) + 2I-(aq) + Cl2(aq) → 2K+(aq) + 2Cl-(aq) + I2(aq)

• Step 3: Rewrite the equation eliminating the ions which appear on both sides of the equation
(spectator ions ) which in this case are the K+ ions:

• 2I-(aq) + Cl2(aq) → 2Cl-(aq) + I2(aq)